My Quandry Today — I’m Sicker Than My Patients

Blog

My Quandry Today — I’m Sicker Than My Patients

My Quandry Today — I’m Sicker Than My Patients

I’ve had a miserable cold all weekend. Now it’s Monday morning and I’m slightly feverish, sweating, have laryngitis and I’m coughing up a storm. But…I’ve also got a full schedule of patients and I’m pretty full this week. So what do I do? Cancel the day and inconvenience patients or expose them to my cold? — although I’m sure one of them gave it to me!!

This is a problem for me. I know my patients depend on me to be here and that they schedule their day around my appointment schedule, but I’m never sure how sick I have to be to cancel a day. In the past, I have had a few experiences where there was no choice — I was hospitalized and there was no question about cancelling. But that’s not the case today. It’s just that I feel miserable.

Of course, putting the shoe on the other foot, I get calls every day from patients who cancel their appointments because they feel the way I do today. Or even not so bad as I do.

But as a physician, I feel responsible for being here, even if I don’t feel like it. When I discuss this with my colleagues, they echo my sentiments. We work when we don’t feel well because we care and feel responsible for our patients.